When BackPackin' go GreenPackin'

Fuel 100 Electro-Bites

As stated on the Fuel 100 Electro-Bites home page, “Electro-Bites are designed specifically for endurance athletes to help extend training and improve race performance.” I wouldn’t put myself in any category where I would be defined as an endurance athlete. What I am is a backpacker.

I keep my backpack ready to go and all my gear is readily at hand. I have gear lists for different types and lengths of hikes. I also have different gear for these hikes. The gear is pretty much a constant for whatever type of hike I have planned. What does change is what I bring for nutrition and I have run the gamut in that area. I have tried multiple varieties of bars, chews, gels, drink powders and liquids hoping that they would provide the boost I needed when tackling a tough section of the trail.

For the purposes of the Fuel 100 Electro-Bites review, I chose a hike that would tax me physically. There was a time where I could bomb up most any hill and scarcely feel the effects of the climb. Those days have passed me by. I am no longer a great hill climber. Hills slow me down and take a lot of energy out of me. Even after slowing my pace and shortening my steps, I still tire easily.

On to the review:

Electro-Bites Apple Cinnamon

While on an uphill section, I noticed my energy flagging, I pulled the first of the Electro-Bites out of my pack. They happened to be Apple Cinnamon flavored. I am a big fan of anything apple-cinnamon flavored and was looking forward to my first experience with the Electro-Bites. I tore the top off the package and was surprised by what was inside. (I think I was surprised because I didn’t know what I was going to see.) “Interesting, tiny dried pellets” was my initial reaction. I poured about half of the package into my hand, kind of bounced them around a bit (they are very light weight) and popped them into my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised! Very nice flavor, they dissolved relatively quickly, did not leave my mouth dry and really left no residue in my mouth. I took a quick drink of water and downed the rest of the package. I looked at the Electro-Bites package and their tag line jumped out at me “Your next mile is on us”. Okay, let’s see what happens.

As I stated earlier, I am no longer a great hill climber and I now had two and a half miles of uphill staring me in the face. Again, I purposely chose a tough trail (for me) for this backpacking trip and review. While hiking up, I noticed that I wasn’t tiring as easily or quickly as I normally do. I also noticed that despite the dry texture of the Electro-Bites (Fuel 100 states: “Electro-Bites are a baked product…The simplest description of their taste is they taste like a salted graham cracker.”). I found them to be much less dry than a graham cracker and I wasn’t feeling any gumminess in my mouth that Ive experienced with other “dry textured” products.

After climbing the two and a half miles and reaching a level area, I opened a second package and downed that. Honestly, I felt much better and far less winded than I normally would feel after a hike like that.

Each of the Electro-Bites packages contains the following:

100 calories

Organic Coconut Oil

Organic Agave Syrup

Potato Starch

Sodium (190mg), Magnesium (46mg), Potassium (55mg)

I don’t know how many calories I burned on that uphill section and I really don’t care. What I do care about is that I felt very good after the climb up, a feeling I don’t normally experience.

Final Thoughts:

I like them! The taste is fine and not overpowering. The dryness that Ive experienced with other “dry textured” products wasn’t there and I didn’t have to swig a half bottle of water after chewing and swallowing the Electro-Bites. There’s a nice variety of flavors available (Pumpkin Spice, Apple Cinnamon, Salty Vanilla, Salty Vinegar and Simply Salty). As a backpacker (and for other weight conscious backpackers out there), the Fuel 100 Electro-Bites weigh in at 0.81 (22g) for each 100 calorie package. I really don’t have a knock on the Electro-Bites other than if you feel the need to chew or chomp on something while getting your nutrition, this probably wouldn’t fulfill that need.

Electro-Bites are designed specifically for endurance athletes to help extend training and improve race performance. Designed as an alternative to the sweet and sticky products currently on the market each 100 calorie pack contains bite sized snacks that are slightly salty in taste. Electro-Bites contain only the best all-natural ingredients including coconut oil and agave syrup.

In addition to calorie replacement each serving contains 190mg Sodium, 55mg Potassium and 46mg Magnesium. Using Electro-Bites may reduce or eliminate the need for electrolyte replacement and other nutritional supplements the body needs to perform at the highest level. (Nutritional information)

Electro-Bites were designed to dissolve easily in a dry mouth and absorb quickly into your system. There is nothing like this on the market.

(Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Electro-Bites for free from Fuel 100 in consideration for a gear review).